USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 26
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Their greatest enemies were not their neighbors, but wild beasts, and the young hunters received a considerable revenue during a number of years from the bounties offered by the town for killing wolves, bears, etc. In 1799 it was voted to give, besides the bounty then in force (the amount of which is not stated) "10 Dollars for a Full Grown Wolf, 5 for a whelp;" also "to give 1 Dollar as bounty for killing a full grown Bear." This indicates the relative amount of damage done by those two kinds of beasts. The bounty on wolves continued through 1801 and in the next year was raised to $25 and $15 respectively for old and young animals. This was repealed in 1803. In this town bounties were paid for killing crows as late as 1831.
The early dwellers in the town of Hamilton as now bounded, suffered less from many privations than those of other localities. For example there was a grist mill at Brookfield from the first, established in 1782, a distance then considered short for obtaining the much-desired grind- ing. The road was very bad to that mill and many preferred to go to New Hartford in Oneida county for a considerable period. In 1797, however, when Daniel Wheeler built a grist mill at Lebanon, this source of difficulty was removed. A very early mill was built also at Hub- bardsville, and in 1810 the grist mill in Hamilton village was built by William Pierce and Josiah and Medad Rogers, on the site of the second mill, which was also built by them in 1832. The property passed to James Furman in 1849, who operated the mill some forty-five years; the building is now occupied as an ice storage house.
The log school house before mentioned as the scene of the first court, was built soon after the first settlement, and was an example of others erected in different parts of the town before the formation of the county, all of which soon gave place to better frame structures, made possible by the starting of Ichabod Wheeler's saw mill at this point. Frame additions to log dwellings and a few frame houses were built by 1806, and a three story brick building was erected in the village in 1816, mainly for school purposes.
Hamilton village was given its first tavern in the dwelling of Elisha Payne, from whom the settlement was for a time known as Fayne's Settlement. In 1802 he built a new tavern on the corner of Broad and Lebanon streets, which stood for many years. There was another small tavern building erected on the site of the later Park House as early as 1800. The log school house disappeared by the beginning of the century and a square roofed frame building was erected on what
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was the public green at the head of the later established park. In 1800, also, Dr. Thomas Greenly had settled in the place, to the great relief of the afflicted; Joseph Colwell had a store on the corner of Broad and Lebanon streets, as the first merchant in the village, and continued in trade until 1816, when he associated with Capt. Esek Steere and built a brick store, which was subsequently rebuilt by Captain Steere. The saw mill of Ichabod Wheeler was on the Chenango not far from the site of the grist mill. Several churches were in existence in the town, as noticed already, and the inhabitants were enjoying most of the blessings of life in their new homes.
Hamilton village was incorporated April 12, 1816, but the early records down to 1853 are said to have been kept only in a fragmentary manner and many of the leaves of the record book were cut out and lost. A still greater calamity followed in the great fire of February 19, 1895, in which all the records were wholly lost. They were in a safe and under all but exceptional circumstances would have been saved; but unfortunately the safe fell into a cistern in the cellar of the old hall building, the water penetrated the safe and rendered the records almost wholly illegible. All the street surveys of the village and the highway records of the town, the boundaries of school districts, and other records of the greatest value were destroyed.
From publications already in existence it is learned that at the vil- lage meeting of May 2,1819 (the record of which was the first one that was complete) Thomas Cox was president; Willian Pierce, 2d, Esek Steere, and Thomas Hubbard, trustees; J. Foote, clerk, an office held by him as late as 1824. We are able to give the following nearly com- plete list of presidents of the village from 1853 to the present time :
Presidents .- 1853, Lewis Wickwire; 1854, Benjamin B. Babcock; 1855, Albertus Starr; 1856, John J. Foote ; 1857, Eben Curry ; 1858-60,1 Erastus D. Wheeler; 1861, George F. Burr; 1862, -; 2 1863, D. B. West; 1864, Paul R. Miner; 1865 and 1867, Eben Curry; 1866, Will- iam N. Case; 1868, Edward E. Welton; 1869, Lyman B. Foster; 1870, William F. Bonney; 1871-72, E. W. Foote ; 1873, Americus V. Bardeen ; 1874, F. D. Beebe; 1875-76, Joseph Curtis; 1877, Eugene P. Sisson ; 1878, David C. Mott; 1879-81, H. W. Keith; 1882, Charles W. Under- hill; 1883-86, W. T. Manchester; 1887-95, Eugene P. Sisson ; 1896-98, N. R. Wickwire.
1 Since 1859, the president, who was previously elected by the trustees, has been elected by the inhabitants.
2 The records do not show who was president in 1862.
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Clerks .- 1853, William Fairchild; 1854, Charles Parker; 1855, S. Kimball Putnam; 1856, George B. Eaton; 1857-58, Wilber M. Brown ; 1859, William Fairchild; 1860-62, R. F. Randolph; 1863, Erastus Wellington; 1 1864, Orrin M. Stiles; 1865-67, William Fairchild; 1868, Joel Barber ; 2 1869-70, John M. Banning; 1871, A. Eugene Lewis; 1372, George Sperry; 1873, Edward P. Kenyon; 1874-76, David C. Mott; 1877-78, E. Watts Cushman; 1879, C. W. Stapleton; Barna J. Stimson has been village clerk since 1884, when he succeeded Charles M. Wickwire, chosen in 1881 and preceded by Joseph Beal, who fol- lowed C. W. Stapleton.
The State legislation affecting Hamilton village is not extensive. In the year 1830 the authorities of the village were given authority to license the sale of liquors. In 1832 (April 25) the Hamilton Water Association was incorporated by an act of the Legislature; Benjamin W. Babcock, Thomas Greenly and Seneca B. Burchard, with their as- sociates, were incorporators. The capital stock was only $3,000. The present water system was not in operation until 1895, as described further on.
In 1840 (May 11) the charter of the village was extensively changed, its provisions condensed and materially amended. The election of five trustees was provided for, with three assessors, a clerk, a collector and three fire wardens. The trustees were given broader powers for the conduct of village government upon lines more in consonance with the dictates of experience up to that time.
Again in 1868 the charter was still further changed in chapter 435, to which the reader is referred for details. Only comparatively unimportant amendments have since been made, as found in chapter 250, laws of 1870; chapter 18, laws of 1874; chapter 142, laws of 1875; and chapter 166, laws of 1877, which repealed all former laws and now is the governing charter. At the annual elections there are elected a president, two assessors, a treasurer, clerk, a street commissioner, a collector and two fire wardens, all of whom hold office one year. The Board of Trustees consists of six members, two of whom are elected each year.
The Hamilton Fire Department was organized May 19, 1830, though there were facilities of some nature for extinguishing fire previous to that time, the records of which are lost. At the meeting of the trus-
1 Willlam Fairchild was appointed clerk, June 17, 1863, vice Wellington resigned.
2 E. D. Van Slyck was elected clerk, June 15, 1868, vice Barber resigned.
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tees on the date named the following named persons were appointed firemen : Ferdinand Walker, Marcus Clark, Thomas Barton, John O. Crocker, J. Addison Mott, James Putnam, J. Franklin Munger, Philo A. Orton, Fay N. Harvey, Erastus D. Wheeler, Hiram Upham, Joshua Wil- lard, Ransom Hayward, David Bellows, Horace Pierce, Samuel Morse and Hiram Savage. This was doubtless the first legally, constituted fire company in the village.
Fountain Fire Company No. 1 was organized July 31, 1873, with thirty- seven members, and Fountain Hose Company with fourteen members. The first officers under this organization were: H. T. Wilcox, chief en- gineer; Eli Barber, first assistant engineer. On November 13, 1876, the trustees authorized Fountain Fire Company to incorporate under the provisions of chapter 397 of the law of May 2, 1873. Three years later, in 1879, the chief engineer reported the following equipment of the department: One Button hand engine, one hose jumper, 200 feet leather hose, 200 feet " ante-speptic" (antiseptic?) hose, 50 feet rubber hose, 50 feet linen hose, (500 feet hose all in good order, ) two fire-hooks with poles, four fire axes, one fire-hook, chain and rope, one alarm bell, five ladders, three lanterns. There were twenty-nine engine men and twenty two hosemen, and seventy uniforms. L. R. Fairchild was chief engineer, A. M. Russell, first assistant, T. H. Beal, second assistant.
In 1888 a Button steam engine was purchased, with two hose jump- ers and 1,000 feet of new hose. Since that time about 1,500 feet of hose has been kept on hand.
The establishment of the present Hamilton water supply system brought the fire department under entirely new conditions. A reor- ganization was effected under which there were two hose companies in service, composed of about twenty-five men each, and a hook and lad- der company, which is now acting as a hose pending the purchase of a truck. The old steamer is to be sold. In 1897 the village gave the old hand engine to the department. It is known throughout the State for its past great efficiency and the number of contests in which it has been the victor. Three hose carts and 1,000 feet of hose are in use; the carts will ere long be superseded by two hose wagons. The officers of the department are Carl Baum, president; A. P. Lewis, vice-presi- dent; J. S. Kimberly, secretary; W. H. Case, treasurer; Thomas H. Beal, chief engineer; Charles O. Wedge, assistant engineer.
The water supply of the present works was turned into the mains at the same date in August, 1895, with the introduction of electric light-
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ing. The water supply is taken from Spring Lake and flows by gravity two miles through a tile main to a filter bed and thence into a well whence it is pumped into a stand-pipe of 200,000 gallons capacity, giving a pressure in the pipes of 100 pounds to the square inch. The works are owned by the village and give the citizens an abundant supply of pure water at a nominal cost.
The electric lighting plant, also owned by the village, is one of the best in the State. The power is supplied by boiler and engine set up in duplicate, so that in case of accident in either the lighting or water works, there need be no stoppage. The present commission consists of William W. West, president; James M. Taylor, secretary ; Melvin Tripp, treasurer.
The post-office was established at Hamilton at an early date, but there are no available records of the office back of 1853, when H. G. Beards- ley was appointed postmaster, to be succeeded in 1861 by George F. Burn. E. R. Bardeen was appointed in 1866, and was succeeded by Benjamin F. Bonney, in 1869. He held the office more than ten years and was followed by E. W. Cushman, he by T. H. Beal, he by G. C. Wal- dron, and he by George Beal, and he by E. W. Cushman, present post- master.
Contemporaneous with the first store of Joseph Colwell, before men- tioned, was that of Charles Clark, who came at the same or about the same time with Colwell, and opened a store in which from about 1805 he was associated with James Dorrance. Charles T. Deering kept a store in that location a little later and continued to about 1816, when he built on the opposite side of the street, in conjunction with Henry M. Graves, a brick block. In that year also Colwell and Esek Steere built a brick store.
Soon after 1800 Henry M. Graves and Samuel Dascom opened a store in a red building on the site of J. B. Grant's book store; the property was then owned by Dr. Thomas Greenly, whose daughter Mr. Dascom married. A few year later Messrs. Graves and Fargo were in business in the same store. Lewis B. Goodsell and a Mr. Sparrow were in mer- cantile business here a little later, and still later, Rufus Bacon and Ferdinand Walker were merchants; Mr. Bacon continued a little later than 1821, and the others named, excepting Walker, who contined to 1852 and failed, were out of trade previous to that year. Bacon sold out to his brother Ezra who became associated with Julius Candee, but con- tinued only a few years.
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In 1821 Joseph Mott came from Bridgewater and opened a store and in the next year started in trade with drugs, as the first in that line in the village, placing his son, Smith Mott, in charge. Soon after the elder Mott's death in 1824 the business passed to John Foote, who carried it on fifteen years and was succeeded by his son, John J. Foote; he in 1854 took as partner Benjamin F. Bonney. In 1866 the firm was succeeded by John C. Foote, son of John J., and James K. Welton, and the firm of Bonney & Welton continued many years. Mr. Bonney's father, Benja- min Bonney, was a pioneer of this town in 1808, settling about a mile north of the Center.
Joseph Mott, who was the first druggist, was a merchant in general goods also, both here and in Utica. In 1830 the son, Smith Mott, joined in partnership with his brother, Joseph Addison Mott, under the firm name of S. & J. A. Mott and continued in trade until 1833. Upon the dissolution of the firm at that time J. A. Mott formed a partnership with Amos Crocker, purchased his interest a year later and and contin- ued in trade until 1847. Smith Mott, after the dissolution, became a partner with Judge Philo Gridley, purchased the latter's interest about three years later and took in Otis B. Howe. This firm dissolved a few years later and for a period Mr. Mott's son, T. S. Mott, was in trade with his father.
Sanford Boon was an early jeweler, beginning in 1836, and erected the building afterwards occupied by the bank. In 1839 Esek Steere, John Foote, and John J. Foote established a hardware business under the firm name of E. Steere & Co., until 1846 and for many years later as Foote & Gaskell.
O. L. Woodruff opened a general store in 1849 in company with John Owen and Erastus F. Wellington, and continued in trade either with others or alone more than thirty years. Mrs. L. A. Rice was a milliner of 1846 and continued thirty years or more. Robert Patterson opened a boot and shoe store in 1860 and is still in business. Valentine Piot- row established a ready-made clothing store in 1860 and is succeeded by his son, Frederick G. Piotrow. Melvin Tripp, grocer, and W. K. Lip- pitt, began trade in 1865 and continued many years. J. M. Banning & Co. carried on a drug business some years from 1866, and John Harmon, hardware, and A. E. Lewis, clothier, were in business twenty years ago, Mr. Lewis still continuing. Mr. Harmon now conducts the mills at the station. Joseph L. Kelly was engaged in the book business beginning in 1871 and continuing ten or more years. A. E. B. Campbell began
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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-HAMILTON.
the manufacture and sale of furniture in 1873, succeeding to an estab- lishment that was started early in the history of the village, as related a little further on. Mr. Campbell was succeeded by Rowlands & Beal.
Francis J. and Elmer C. Root began the drug trade in 1873 as Root Brothers; E. C. Root still continues in the same line, with groceries. A. W. Bartle was in the grocery business a number of years from 1874, and L M. Royce in 1875 began the grocery and crockery business which he still carries on. A. C. Rice began grocery business in 1876 and Peter McMorrow and John Bradin, as the firm of McMorrow & Co., opened a dry goods business in 1878. In the same year F. N. Tompkins estab- lished his jewelry business which he still conducts. James L. Bright opened a hardware business in 1878 and in the next year J. P. Butler engaged in grocery trade.
The foregoing brief notes tell the story of almost all of the early and some of the present mercantile establishments of the village. For a list of the many other present merchants the reader must be referred to the Gazetteer in later pages.
Hamilton village has never been noted for extensive manufactures and those of the present day are not at all important. While the place was remarkably active in a business sense from the date of beginning the Chenango Canal in 1834 for a number of years and the most enthu- siastic anticipations were indulged in by many of the more sanguine inhabitants, the trend was not especially strong towards permanent manufacturing industries. It was during the period soon after the be- ginning of the canal that building operations received their first real impetus. Hiram Savage and his associates put up the Exchange Build- ings; Mr. Savage was one of the very early tin and hardware dealers. The Commercial Block also was built in that period, and the Eagle Hotel, and a Mr. Wadsworth erected a third public house near the new canal, now occupied as a store by M. M. Wilcox.
Cabinet making, or furniture manufacture as we more frequently term it in these later days, was among the earliest industries of Hamilton, as in many other villages before machinery was brought to bear upon that work to the extent it now is. James Higgins began cabinet making in the village in 1810 and was the first in the business here. He sold to Erastus Wheeler who had learned the trade with Higgins. In 1827, about two years after he purchased the business, Mr. Wheeler removed it to Lebanon street and about 1840 took Wilson Parker into partnership. Ten years later Charles B. Gardiner purchased Wheeler's
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interest and the firm of Parker & Gardiner continued until 1864, when Mr. Parker sold to Madison Hall. In 1871 Gardiner sold his interest to Madison Leach, who in 1873 sold to Archibald B. Campbell. The next year Mr. Campbell purchased Mr. Hall's interest. Mr. Campbell continued a number of years and the factory was subsequently oper- ated for a time by J. N. Rowlands and others, to finally come into pos- session of Rowlands & Beal, who conduct a furniture and undertaking business, but do not manufacture.
A tannery was built by Thomas Orton not long after 1810, which early became the property of Esek Steere, and about 1870 passed to Charles J. Johnson. He operated it some years when it was burned and not rebuilt.
A foundry and machine shop was established before 1830, which passed through a large number of proprietorships. Henry Powers operated it many years and in 1875 it passed into possession of F. B. Wilcox and Amos Beebe and was operated by Mr. Wilcox until his death.
A sash, door and blind factory was established in 1872 by John Har- mon and Charles Stringer who continued it three years, when Washing- ton E. Brown purchased Harmon's interest. A year later Brown sold to Charles Stringer. It passed from him to Eugene Wedge, then to Wedge & Allen and from them to the present Hamilton Lumber Com- pany; the plant is now substantially idle.
A wire cloth factory was operated here for some years by the Hamil- ton Wire Cloth Company, of which Frank Root was president. The plant burned in 1895 and was not rebuilt. It became the property of a syndicate.
The first mills in the village have been noticed. A large storehouse was refitted and converted into a steam grist mill in 1878, by Adon N. Smith. He and several others operated it until it was burned and not rebuilt. When burned it was the property of Hitchcock & Gavin.
There is a feed mill in operation at the depot, and a machine shop also near there which is operated by Dwight Graham.
The old Park Hotel was built soon after the opening of this century by Artemas Howard and was long a celebrated hostelry. In 1822 he exchanged the property with John D. Blish for a tavern in Lebanon. Blish kept the hotel until 1840, enlarging the building in the mean time. Several later enlargements gave it its latest form and dimensions. William and Samuel Russell succeeded Mr. Blish as landlords and a
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few years later Bonney & Lewis took the house, followed by Thomas Nye, Eli Barber, John Ingalls, C. T. Alvord who was succeeded by W. G. Lippitt, the present proprietor.
The Eagle Hotel was built in 1834 by a stock company, prominent in which was Curtis Porter. What became the wing of the house, on the north, had previously been a dwelling built and occupied by Charles Williams. The hotel was built of stone, four stories high above the basement. It had various proprietors, but has fallen into partial decay, the wing part being occupied as a restaurant.
The Maxwell House was built in the fall of 1895 and opened by M. F. Maxwell, who was succeeded by his widow and she by John Keegan.
Dr. Thomas Greenly has been mentioned as the first physician to settle permanently in Hamilton. He was long a prominent citizen who took an active interest in all public affairs. The second phy- sician in the village was Dr. Peter B. Havens, a graduate of Hamil- ton, College, who practiced here until his death in 1860, attaining a high reputation as a surgeon. He married Martha C. Clark, of Buf- falo. His former home is now occupied by J. W. Clark; but previ- ous to that he built and resided in for a time the building afterwards used for the Female Seminary, which was sold by him to C. C. Buell, the founder of the seminary. Dr. Havens then purchased the resi- dence subsequently occupied by his son, Dr. Peter B., who also prac- ticed here until his death. The house is now occupied by J. W. Clark; it was built by Dr. John Babcock, a bachelor, who resided there with his mother and sister. He and his brother, Dr. Benjamin Waite Bab- cock, came hither about 1830 and practiced in partnership or alone a number of years.
Other former physicians were Dr. Henry G. Beardsley, Dr. Samuel Peck, who removed to Peterboro; Dr. J. S. Douglass, who was in prac- tice fifteen years and went west; Dr. J. Trevor, who practiced a year; Dr. Mortimer W. Crawe, who practiced from about 1857 until the war and served as assistant surgeon in the 157th Regiment and now resides in Watertown; Dr. W. B. Brown, who removed to Rochester i.1 1865; Dr. William Oaks, who came from De Ruyter about 1857 and continued to his death in 1863; and perhaps a few others. Gilbert L. Gifford, a native of Brookfield, is now in practice in Hamilton, as also is Hull S. Gardiner. Other present physicians are Drs. O. S. Langworthy, who was formerly associated with Dr. Frank D. Beebe, a prominent citizen
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and a surgeon in the Civil war, now deceased; F. O. Lloyd began prac- tice in 1892; and Dr. G. W. Wilcox.
In early years Hamilton was the home of several lawyers of distinc- tion, the first of whom was Nathaniel King, a native of Amenia, N. Y., born December 26, 1767, and graduated from Yale in 1792. He settled in this village in 1797; was the first representative from Chenango county in the Assembly and twice in later years. He rose to the rank of major-general in the militia and served at Sackett's Harbor in the war of 1812. In 1809 he was appointed district attorney for the Ninth. District, which included Madison, Cortland, Onondaga, Cayuga and Chenango counties. He was one of the founders of Hamilton College and the first teacher in that institution. He died in Hamilton July 25, 1848.
The second attorney to locate here was Thomas Hill Hubbard, a na- tive of New Haven, Conn., and a graduate of Yale. He settled in Hamilton about 1805 and continued in practice until 1824, when he re- moved to Utica where he died in 1857. He was the first surrogate of Madison county (1806-1816), and was then appointed district attorney for the Sixth District. He was also the first district attorney of Madi- son county ; was elected to Congress in 1817 and again in 1821, and in Utica was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court.
Other early attorneys of prominence who practiced in this village were John G. Stower, who studied with Mr. Hubbard and was his partner until 1824; was surrogate from 1821 to 1827, representative in Congress in 1827-29, and State senator 1833-35. Judge Philo Gridley was for a short time a partner with Mr. Stower, and removed to Utica. John Foote studied law with Mr. Hubbard and began practice about 1813, which continued through his long life until recent years. He was father of Hon. John J. Foote. Charles Mason settled in Hamilton to take the place of Philo Gridley when the latter removed to Utica, was appointed circuit judge in 1838; was appointed district attorney of Madison county in 1845 and two years later was elected justice of the Supreme Court for the Sixth Judicial District and was re-elected. In January, 1868 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Court of Ap- peals and in 1870 was made clerk of the United States Circuit Court and removed to Utica.
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